Is My A Prefect's Uncle a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, first issue; a school story, Wodehouse's second book (McIlvaine A2a)
• Published 11 September 1903 by Adam & Charles Black in pictorial red cloth printed in black, blue and pink and lettered in gilt to the spine, with a frontispiece and seven further plates (eight illustrations in all) by R. Noel Pocock
• The first-issue point is an advertisement for The Pot-Hunters on the verso of the half-title, the title leaf dated 1903, and no terminal advertising supplement as issued

How Adam & Charles Black marked a first edition

• No 'First Edition' statement and no printer's number line: like nearly all British houses of its era, Adam & Charles Black did not print a 'First Edition' notice or a number line in its collectible literary firsts (the e…
• Rely on the title-page year and a clean copyright verso: a first printing carries the year of publication on the title page (e.g. 1903 for 'A Prefect's Uncle', 1909 for 'Mike') with no later date and no printing/reprint…

Full Adam & Charles Black first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
4. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
6. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

UK A & C Black is the true first (11 September 1903); an American edition was issued by Macmillan from imported sheets in October 1903. Later British issues in the same binding can be told from the true first by a bound-in publisher's catalogue that lists Wodehouse's Mike (not published until 1909), which cannot appear in a genuine 1903 first issue.P-023467

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue.P-023468

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of A Prefect's Uncle a first edition?

A first edition of A Prefect's Uncle by P.G. Wodehouse (Adam & Charles Black) is identified by: First edition, first issue; a school story, Wodehouse's second book (McIlvaine A2a).

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. UK A & C Black is the true first (11 September 1903); an American edition was issued by Macmillan from imported sheets in October 1903.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

No book-club issue.

I have a first edition of A Prefect's Uncle — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.